Card payment sucharges banned in Australia from 2026

[transpactraveller]

I was at a restaurant today where they had a 10% weekend surcharge, but then a 5% discount if you paid by cash, or another 2% surcharge to pay by card.

So however you paid, the amount on the menu and the total on the bill was a different amount to what you actually had to pay.

If the government isn't going to ban surcharges they should at least legislate bill transparency for them, eg must display both totals on the bill - the total price by cash & total price by card.

 

[MELso]

I was at a restaurant today where they had a 10% weekend surcharge, but then a 5% discount if you paid by cash, or another 2% surcharge to pay by card.

So however you paid, the amount on the menu and the total on the bill was a different amount to what you actually had to pay.

If the government isn't going to ban surcharges they should at least legislate bill transparency for them, eg must display both totals on the bill - the total price by cash & total price by card.

The restaurants argued it was all too hard to comply so lobbied successfully to escape the rules around price transparency that apply everywhere else...

 

[clifford]

The restaurant argued it was all too hard to comply so lobbied successfully to escape the rules around price transparency that apply everywhere else...

Ah well, it's a tough business, and they may not be around next week. Buyer beware.

 

[Mr_Orange]

I was at a restaurant today where they had a 10% weekend surcharge

I absolutely hate this. A restaurant owner chooses to open on the weekend. They know this when they write their business plan. They do write a business plan, don't they? They also know that they have to pay their staff penalty rates. They also know how many weekends there are in a year - this doesn't change. All of this means that they can work out a price for their menu items that it is the same no matter the day of the week.

After, I went to Max Brenner, several years ago and noticed a weekend surcharge, I walked out and have never been back since.

 

[transpactraveller]

Australia is becoming a world leader in surcharges.

Locals accept it, migrants question it.

https://csferrie.medium.com/apparently-hypocrisy-is-not-un-australian-43bffa499c0c

 

[Captain Halliday]

I was at a restaurant today where they had a 10% weekend surcharge, a 5% discount if you paid by cash, and a 2% surcharge to pay by card.

Whatever way you wanted to pay, the amount on the menu and the amount on the bill was different to the amount you had to actually pay.

It's like we're trying to imitate America with their ridiculous tax+tip situation.

Did you take your business elsewhere or pay cash?

I absolutely hate this. A restaurant owner chooses to open on the weekend. They know this when they write their business plan. They do write a business plan, don't they? They also know that they have to pay their staff penalty rates. They also know how many weekends there are in a year - this doesn't change. All of this means that they can work out a price for their menu items that it is the same no matter the day of the week.

After, I went to Max Brenner, several years ago and noticed a weekend surcharge, I walked out and have never been back since.

Devils advocate hat^

Let’s take a simple example of a coffee that’s $5.00 on weekdays and $5.50 on weekends.

Using your suggested business model this coffee might be what… $5.10 all week?

Why should someone buying a coffee on a weekday subsidise the coffee for those who want a weekend caffeine hit?

Or looking at it another way, are you suggesting you’re happy to pay higher prices 71% of the week (weekdays) so that you can have a lower price on the remaining 29% of the week?

 

[Mr_Orange]

Why should someone buying a coffee on a weekday subsidise the coffee for those who want a weekend caffeine hit?

The point is that the customer wouldn't know. If from day 1 of the cafe/restaurant opening the cost is $5.10 and they are happy to $5.10, they pay it. If they aren't, they go somewhere else.

A coffee should cost the same every day of the week.

Also, the same people buy coffee at the same place, every day so they are just subsidising themselves. You latte suppers are creatures of habit.

 

[Captain Halliday]

The point is that the customer wouldn't know. If from day 1 of the cafe/restaurant opening the cost is $5.10 and they are happy to $5.10, they pay it. If they aren't, they go somewhere else.

A coffee should cost the same every day of the week.

Sure but isn’t the same true of the $5.50 weekend coffee. You’re either happy paying $5.50 they pay it. If they aren’t, they console there else?

 

[serfty]

Sure but isn’t the same true of the $5.50 weekend coffee. You’re either happy paying $5.50 they pay it. If they aren’t, they console there else?

What they should do is charge $5.50 7 days a week. If the barista/management are any good they'll make a motza ...

 

[MooTime]

Have a different price menu on the weekend. Simple
If someone says why was the coffee 50c cheaper yesterday, simple everybody knows weekend workers get paid more than weekday workers. No? Just say that.

Bottom line you pay the price on the menu, none of this surcharge baloney.
Imo of course.

 

[SeaWolf]

Why should someone buying a coffee on a weekday subsidise the coffee for those who want a weekend caffeine hit?

Imagine the outrage if supermarkets, pharmacies or petrol stations started doing this. They could make the same case.